MOOSIC - The Alex Rodriguez who seemed so excited, hopeful, and almost playful, after his first two games with the RailRiders was a distant memory by Saturday night.

He sat behind that familiar table, in front of a growing group of media, in the batting cage at PNC Field. He never cracked a smile. His voice went monotone. His right hand seemed to be all that held his head up.

Saturday night was not a good one for the rehabbing Yankees star. He went 0 for 4, struck out three times, and couldn't answer the bell for his planned outing at third base, settling for the DH role because of a tight left quadriceps. Despite planning to originally play in all four games in the series against Louisville, Rodriguez said the condition of his leg would not permit him to commit to playing in today's series finale, which begins at 1:05 p.m.

However, he still wouldn't rule out joining the New York Yankees for their series in Texas that starts Monday.

"I'll probably speak to (Yankees manager) Joe (Girardi) tonight or in the morning to find out what the combination is," Rodriguez said.

He said after the game that he began to feel the tightness in his quad Saturday morning, hours after he tried to stretch a single into a double in the eighth inning of Friday night's loss to Louisville.

He slid hard into second - an action the Yankees wanted to see him perform before being deemed completely healthy - and Rodriguez admitted it's probably the play that served as the catalyst for the pain.

"That's what I woke up thinking," Rodriguez said. "It was the first time I slid in a long time like that in a game. The same quad bothered me a little bit last week, but I think it should be OK. I recovered nicely last week, and I should recover nicely this week."

He said he was "optimistic" Monday remained on the table for his return to the big leagues. Because his 20-day rehab period ends on Sunday, he would either have to be activated by the Yankees on Monday or wait five days before beginning another rehab assignment, which could not begin before July 27.

Rodriguez was a relatively late scratch from the third base position before the game, and despite saying that he felt the pain in the quad initially in the morning, he took ground balls at third base before the game.

Rodriguez dismissed suggestion that the injury could be just the beginning of a ruse that has built a some steam in New York and around baseball. If he's suspended for his role in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal - and reports indicate he could receive as many as 150 games - he will not be paid during that suspension. But if a doctor deems him physically unable to perform before his suspension, and he retires, the Yankees would have to pay the remainder of his contract.

"Ask whoever is saying that," he said when asked if there was a connection. "I don't know."

He didn't rule out playing for the RailRiders today, but he also didn't sound like a man who planned to do so. He said the "beginner plan" for the next several days being discussed by himself and Yankees brass would be to take today's game off and play Monday against the Rangers. He also called today "maybe a good treatment day."

At the plate, Rodriguez struggled badly Saturday.

He lined out hard to right in the first inning, and Louisville right fielder Denis Phipps actually made a nice running catch to take a hit away from him. But he jogged down the first base line as the ball sailed toward the gap.

His next three at-bats were all strikeouts: Looking at a change-up from Bats starter Yohan Pino in the third, swinging at a fastball in the fifth and diving after a 3-2 splitter from reliever Jose Diaz with one out and the potential go-ahead run on third base in the eighth.

Several times during his stint with the RailRiders, Rodriguez said he felt like he'd be "weeks behind" defensively, and that was before his weekend ended evidently prematurely, and with only seven innings of work in the field behind him. In fact, he didn't even field a ground ball in the series.

On his way back to the RailRiders' clubhouse, Rodriguez said he couldn't guess whether he'd be passable at third base if the Yankees were to call him up Monday. But, he maintained, he still felt strong enough to keep it in consideration even after a frustrating night in Triple-A.

"Of course. Of course," he said. "Even if Monday is in jeopardy, there's always Tuesday. It has been a long road. Obviously, you get down about it."

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